#I have my drawing tablet but I lost my digital pen

[askcalandlynx]

Hello there! Welcome to our ask blog!

We're excited to answer any questions you've got.

I've finally decided to post about these two goobers since I've come up with so much lore about what was originally just a silly swap AU. I'll put some context that I feel should be shared ooc here. Y'know, stuff that wouldn't make much sense for the cast to answer themselves.

The only things that swap are their roles! There may be changes to their personalities, but that's because their life experiences are different (and probably also because I'm not experienced enough to keep them perfectly in character)

They won't recognize the original cast's names, but for the sake of not constantly having them ask who people are talking about, I'll just ignore it in favor of responding to the question itself. The names they go by are their in-universe names/nicknames, and they don't have knowledge of the original show.

This ask-blog is their equivalent to the show.

•>

[photon-crest-art]

I don't have a witty caption for this tbh. Get Zooble'd or something I guess.

[obeythedemons]

In 2019, I had a major wrist injury at work. I received no worker's comp, and they didn't even file an incident report. Because of that injury, I basically lost my ability to draw and do art. Every time I tried, the blood vessels in my wrist would start to pop and blood would pool under the skin. It hurt a lot.

Now, I'm trying water color pens. So far it's been nice to my wrist. I think it's because I don't have to use as much pressure as I would with my digital tablet or pencils. I don't have as great control over my movements as I used to, so I'm getting frustrated it doesn't look how I want it to, but it's still fun. Here's a couple things I've tried while I learn how to use the pens.

[rottedgod]

hi guys! :3 despite what it may seem, I AM NOT DEAD! school and life has been KICKING MY ASS and i haven't been drawing as much as i used to. i recently lost my tablet pen and i dont know when or if ill be able to get a new one, among some personal stuff. i hope i can get at least a few posts out in the near future, but idk. we'll see. if i do post digital art soon, it'll have to be shitty phone drawings (example above!) anyhoo. thats it 4 now!:3 hopefully i see you guysz soon.

[phrandallanton]

do you have any tips on learning anatomy ?!1?1 im losing my mind over it 😿

Watch videos on YouTube about it or looking it up online, basic info I know. We live in the time where information is so exseable, use that to your advantage! The only place you should avoid is TikTok. Don't get me wrong there are some good creators on there but tutorials are better on YouTube and Google as I feel like they explain more. Here's some channels I recommend for not only learning anatomy but art as a whole:

Marc Brunet:

Draw like a sir:

tppo

As of tips I can bring to the table, the biggest one is don't stress over making things perfect! One of the reasons why I love the RANFREN style is how poorly drawn it is and that's what makes it look good. I know it sounds like an insult but it's not. The hands are always so effed up looking and that's my favorite part. Another example is Shin Chan. A lot of the adult's faces are always so wonky but it works and I love it.

Of course you need to learn the rules before you break them. Even the most exaggerated art use basic anatomy/fundamentals. But you don't always have to play by them. Art is subjective, you can draw a piece that has perfect anatomy and fundamentals and people may still not like it. Draw whatever looks good to you and makes you happy!

(This may differ though as if you want to get into a job where you have to draw in a sertant way/sertant thing the whole "I don't care what people think" isn't going to work. I personally do art as a hobby and never plan on doing it to appeal to others so I can bank off of it. If one day I can do that, cool. If not, also cool. That's how I see it! When it comes to trying to make art profitable a lot of creativity can be lost as most places don't want to take a risk of doing something that can effect them and the money. Little tangent, oops. But yeah, keep in mind that what I just typed out is coming more from a hobbyist stand point rather a professional one!)

Another thing is if there's something you don't like about your piece, then fix it. I use to say whatever when there was something I didn't necessarily like about my art because I didn't want to redo hours of work or mess up something, but trust me redoing it and getting it somewhere you like is so much better. Once again, the internet has lots of information to help so don't be shy to look up on how you can make something look to your liking. Criticism can also help with this. Always be open to constructive criticism when you're wanting to get better! Doesn't mean you have to apply said criticism to your art but it's still something you 100% should be open to.

Also with practicing try and do 30 minutes at a time and taking 15 minutes breaks in between. You're brain tends to absorb more information then studying for an hour straight. And don't push yourself to study every moment of your life. You should have a good balance of studying and free drawing. And please take breaks too. Burn out is not fun, it can take a long time to overcome it. (Coming from someone who experienced burn out for over a whole year.)

You also may not learn at it right away. Take your time and go easy on yourself! Don't compare your art to others as you have no clue how many hours they spent into practicing, and I assure you most artist have drawn stuff that looks horrible compared to what they post online. People will only post stuff they think looks good for the world to see. Your practice sketches aren't the best but it's one of the steps that's going to help you get where you want to be! <(＾⊆＾)_/¯

[scaththefloof]

I might make an intro post because why not.

I do digital art, but I use a Samsung galaxy tablet a 8 (2019) with the WORST FUCKING STYLUS, it is one of those shitty rubber dome ones that I fucking hate on a personal level now that I have used one, and my finger is as bad as the stylus. So yeah, I am probably going to post more traditional art than digital lol

I spin pens more than I draw though so I may make posts talking about pen spinning. I used to flip balisongs but I lost my balisongs when I moved (oops).

And I'm also a tech nerd who uses Linux. I have two laptops that run two distros. My Lenovo N23 Chromebook 80YS runs Arch Linux (btw), I call it my "Archbook". And then I have a mid 2012 MacBook Pro running Arch linux as well (arch just works for me lol) that one's nickname is the "ArchBook Pro"

This Tumblr blog thingy, whatever it's called is where you can see all my dumbassery.

[vadapega]

Rummaging through my old room I find this, a traditional flip note of Pantufa the Cat from 2011 or earlier, with rusty staples and, according to the numbers on the corner, missing frames.

For detailed ramblings of hidden memories this unlocked, click for more

I've always wanted to be an animator and, while I didn’t have the software or hardware for digital animation, I wanted to practice is as much as I could. This was the best I could put together at the age of 16.

I would do small scale animations at the edges of notebooks or draft ideas in comic form with notes before I knew what a Storyboard was. Back then I didn't even have a stable internet connection in the first place, this was around the time I had to share a PC with my older brother who would kick me out at any opportunity and hog the PC for the entire day, only letting me on at the last minute, where I would get an earful from my parents and be told to go to bed, it was a nightmare to do anything digitally...

The first drawing tablet I got was considered scrap the moment I got it for Christmas. No screen, wobbly inaccurate pen (can't draw a straight line without it looking like lightning), Silvercrest branded (basically, LIDL), it was as cheap as it could be but it was my introduction to "not using the mouse to draw" which it did not help with as even today revisiting it makes me want to draw with a mouse more.

Things were very strict and if something did what it needed to do, it didn't need to be replaced. "That's what I had been taught"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" was the motto for my family and that mentality stuck to me even to the present day. I still find myself using MSPaint for Pixelart or drawings, as spending for anything greater is hardwired in my brain as "unnecessary" or "wasteful", hell, I wasn't even allowed to spend money outside of school purchases such as at the cafeteria (they had a kickass card charging system which made the school I attended in Germany around 2016-2019 look medieval in comparison which is incredible since Portugal isn't the first thing you think of when it comes to technological advancements), so any money I would get for Christmas or birthdays was practically useless and I never learned to manage income. I would sometimes find my mom take the money off my piggy bank for groceries and other goods when she was running low, she didn't try to lie, she had no reason to.

Anything I can get for free is what I stick by and I'll only spend money if I absolutely have to or, more recently, if it benefited close friends in any way, as I've learned to have no regard for my own well being and should be ashamed for even considering it, others always take priority.

So when it comes to animation today, I have a "yar har" version of Toon Boom Studio 8.0 for bigger things (I've tried OpenToonz but it's very crash happy and I've lost hours of animation with it even with the backup and auto save features on, back in the day I had a a copy of Flash CS4 I grabbed from the school computers that I got to work after some tinkering and a well placed crack) and for Pixelart I just use Windows XP's MSPaint and abuse scroll-wheel and window resizing shenanigans to advance frames. I don't get much time to practice animation and I get easily excited to have a chance at it.

I'm under my own mental shackles at all times and that's not going to change, only further cemented by the elitist mindset the Sonic Hacking community and SRB2 had taught me, a mindset I regret adopting and one I catch myself going back to and feeling ashamed of every now and then, leading only to depressive episodes that are best left for a psychologist to deal with... should I ever find the opportunity to seek one without time and language barrier issues.

As the years go by and I find myself doing or just refining Pixelart than to do animated pieces, I've given up hope in being an animator in the foreseeable future, only dedicating animation to those done in private between friends, never allowing myself to clean up or refining it in any meaningful way unless asked for because I shouldn't. It's why I tend to ask for suggestions or characters to add for animations I plan to do, cause I don't want it to be for me, I want it to be for those I can make happy to see it.

---

Before I hit "Post", a reminder that there are people much worse off than I am, these are just memories and 1st world problems and should be nobody's priority. Please support growing young artists and animators, they need it more than some washed up wanna-be animator that is known for nothing else but basic Sonic ROM hacks disguised to look impressive via a coat of MSPaint.

[angeliteonfridgeduty]

Ye local infodump pinned post. hi

so anyway

i am your local idiot that is hopelessly addicted to a chunk of select fandoms and constantly makes stupid amounts of AU's on them because, you see, i can

!!!! i try my best, but i forget shit a lot so this blog may contain reblogs with untagged blood/gore/body horror/etc typical to fandoms i'm in (ultrakill, murder drones, project moon for example). it's absolutely not in irl form, but. yknow. still.

they're not a daily occurrence kind of thing but they're there. delve at your own risk

(this hellhole is large and i don't think i can find every untagged post i have ever on my own so like. if you do stumble upon anything i forgotted to tag please let me know in dms or askbox or hell even in a reblog or something, i'll locate and tag it)

anyway yeah uhhhhhhhhhhhh basic human being (totally not an iterator or FallenAngel with internet access) that draws and has a tendency to randomly disappear for amounts of time approximately close to 6000 years.

generally i use she/her to refer to myself but i'm fine with anything

the art i do is mostly the physical kind (y'know, the average pen + paper combo), but i can and will do digital too occasionally

i will mostly post about my massive mass of au's and original worlds that also happen to be i guess interconnected if that's the correct term because i like it when more lore. the whole thing unified is just called Lesoverse for now because i have the naming skills of someone that lacks naming skills

here's a WIP googledoc that explains a bunch of Lesoverse terms, mechanics and stuff.

Also, i may occasionally roleplay as some of my OCs in broad daylight for no particular reason. When making posts or reblogging something as them, i'll use a tag for the respective OC i'm roleplaying as.

Current List:

1. No Particular Reason (Rain World) - Iterator sona. tag - #partiposting

2. The SOLUTION Collective (Sekaiju: a World of Creatures) - Lost Ocean collective OC. tag - #solutionposting on main (no posts as of yet)

3. unidentified FallenAngel with internet access (Sekaiju: a World of Creatures) - ..pretty self-explanatory i guess, FallenAngel OC. No tag as of yet. (no posts as of yet)

4. unidentified entity that Speaks Somewhat Like Othala Does. No tag as of yet. probably won't have a tag it's funnier that way. but if i reply to something while Typing Like This The Entire Time and it sounds awfully like i'm doing roleplay i probably am

oh and general roleplay tag is #the rp sure is commencing

i probably will use it really scarcely but its a thing

Other Blogs:

-Reblog Sideblog (mostly dead)

-Ask The C262 Trio Anything

-Ask Tablet And Z Anything

current main hyperfixation: sekaiju and limbus company

current secondary hyperfixations: Rain World, Phighting, Murder Drones, Steven Universe, fallen london/sunless sea/sunless skies, Cavern Crusher, my OUs

anyway here's a guide to my tags (this one will get updated on the rare occasions when i'm not deader than Pink Diamond)

______________________________________________________________

#soup jar. / #soup jar. that's it. that's all i'm willing to say = universal tag for my stuff in general i guess

#MD-Colony 262 = tag for stuff related to my silly current main murder drones AU.

#FR-Dawn Of Flight = tag for stuff related to my silly current main flight rising AU. no i don't know why i called it that either

#Sekaiju: Broken Veil = tag for my one and only silly sekaiju AU

#LV-The Antiverse = tag for things related to that specific multiverse some of my AU/OU's exist in.

#LV-The Beyond = tag for things related to that one code controller infested hellhole i made

#Fissured Together = tag for that one fandom-mash AU i own

#SU-Reality Fractures = tag for that specific anomalous hell of a Steven Universe AU i made once

#ask local soup idiot and local soup idiot shall answer = tag for my asks in general lol

#toaster drones content = ....self-explanatory. toaster drones.

#consumes your content = reblogs

#RW: Storm Fluctations AU - my abnormal as all hell rain world au

[yanteetle]

Hiiii i was curious but what tablet and art program do you use? I really love your art and it makes me really wanna try drawing digitally too. I hope it's not weird or rude to ask a artist this. There seems to be so many different type of tablets, it makes me feel very lost lmao 😵‍💫

no worries! Sorry for not getting to this sooner, I was in jail around the time you sent this in! I REALLY suggest Xp pen tablets! I personally use the Artist 12 display tablet (pink version because its SO PRETTY, and there'sa small hole to put a ribbon or keychain with it as decoration!) and my drawing program is Clip studio paint! I use it on my laptop, so I bought the one-time license, which is pretty affordable when it's on sale imo :)) but if you're looking for a simpler starter/more affordable option, I also use the Xp-Pen Deco mini 7! I like the feel of drawing on it, and I use it mostly for school! Don't worry about asking, I'm happy to answer questions like these anytime :) Have a nice day, and take care!

[katyspersonal]

When you started drawing? And how? Your works are so detailed and you feel the perspective so Q_Q Your drawing of old hunter from DLC is incredibly cool, I am looking respectfully

Oh- You mean this ( x ) one? Haha, yeah, it was an art commission, so I tried to give it the best I could... Though maybe using something I was paid for as a chance to practice perspective was a little irresponcible :') But the customer was happy, and this is what matters!

To be honest, I've been drawing for as long as I can remember...? I have quite the regrets about having basically none of my drawings from childhood survive, because it's been a LOT. But I've been going over the top with details, colors and settings since the age of like, 4-5 I think? I recall the caretakers at kindergarden REALLY loving my drawing of underwater, because I killed it with variety of fish and seaweed, despite having no references or knowledge! Also, fun fact - the very first art criticism of my life from me was towards a girl that colored every woman in her coloring book as blonde with blue eyes! I criticized her saying that there were other colors for people and that it was boring to be so samey dsfjjdshfsd Had to apologize, but.. yeah, it was the ultimate "I've always been this way" moment if I've seen one. :')

I used to visit classes to practice my drawing in elementary school, though! But it was mostly environment and animals, when I was more interested in drawing people at that time! The period from 8 to 12 years was the one where I kept creating OCs obsessively, and stories for them, and I've had like 6 comics I've been drawing and coloring at the same time (mostly comedy + fantasy)! I think what really inspired me to start creating the comics and characters that were mostly young girls with elemental powers was the Russian comic, Rainbow Knights x) (Журнал "Юла", припоминаешь? хд) I was obsessed with it, and I was obsessed with excuse to use more colors, effects and nature/elemental aesthetic. And yes, it was all trdaitional! I love using crayons, markers, pens and pencils for coloring. My clumsy hands were never good for paintbrushes... I moved more onto digital around the age of 14. It was when I've found a summer job, and earned enough money to buy a tablet! So.. I started prioritize digital art since then! But it had the form of me first drawing something on the paper, and then scanning and fixing/lining/coloring it on the computer for a LONG time! Well, it was taking some time to get used to, as well, so I also had some drawings I did with my mouse and vector tool in PS or SAI, like this:

It is one of the only few remaining "ancient" ones, since most of them got lost forever on the old hard drive! ...I still HAVE this hard drive, I just have no idea how to extract anything from it.. It is kinda broken :U But if I get my hands on very old doodles trapped there, I will share!

^ I believe this was the first doodle that I did 100% on the computer AND with the tablet! Without mouse, without first drawing traditonally and then digitally, but just on the computer, from start to finish! But it was still hard to do, so I kept with the use of paper and pencil for some more while. Like- I hoped I'd find some old drawings for this ask, but all I found were traditional versions of some of my drawings!

You could tell that using traditional paper + pencil were beneficial for anatomy and proportions. And that I used to be better at that, VERY much better. And that it was sorta... easier to 'get lost' in the process? It was a simpler life when not only I was far less depressed and broken, not only I had more spare time in schoo/uni years, but also just... I did not feel burnt out. Or guilty over the fact of not finishing new drawing "fast enough" (and thus, looking like a loser). I also had less things online to drain my spare time, less distractions... I kinda miss that time, really...

All in all, I've never learned to draw PROPERLY. I was self-taught but not studying too hard, mostly I was just analysing art of artists I loved to improve my own, and asking advice from good artists to fix this or that! Hence, my skill used to be better! Year 2015-16 was my most productive year artistically! I've been drawing a bunch of (then) popular cartoon stuff, as well as TONS of fanart for Rick and Morty RP community, and all the things were sooooo bright, colorful and full of energy...

And now meet the man that sorta ended my art career :^) I've picked interest in Mark (Endlish localisation called him Marx and I hate it lol), and that pulled me into the rest of K1rby. Except I could not actually play anything (besides 64 Crystal Shards that I emulated), so I compensated with letsplays and anime. And Super Paper Mario was a side obsession. xD But.... yeah, since MARK, dark ages for my art started. No, no, my art was good! Awesome, even! I kept people begging me to "please draw K1rby again" for years since fandom shifting! Words like, 'no one ever cared about this universe and characters the same way you do'... But! Drawing 'creatures' for 2-3 years completely destroyed my prior (already loose) knowledge of human anatomy and proportions, and I am still struggling to recover that former skill! :')

Finally, year later, around February/March 2021, I've gotten pulled into Bloodb0rne! Badly. And thanks to Mic0lash. Huh, it is always some madman, isn't it? xD But I felt very self-consious about my art... I felt like serious, detailed, dark and beautiful atmosphere of BB deserved better than my "overly cutesy" and "tone-deaf" art.... annnnd if this sounds like something I'd never say, but rather as an unfair criticism from some antsy reddit-ish asshole? It is because it is EXACTLY what it was! :')

But in either case, the Doll was the first time I've used paper and pencil again in many years. I felt so... alive? I recall the feeling I could only describe as 'blood returned in my veins' but spiritual, you know? It felt like so much fun! To remember how to draw traditonally, to break out of my 'round cutesy' comfort zone- heck, I even downloaded brushes for my SAI for the first time in my life, just to color the characters better! Learned new coloring style, too: usually my coloring was very rigid and relying on very concrete colors for shadow and base.. but from this point on, I prioritized more 'chaotic' approach, as I felt it was more appropriate!

....and so, now we are here. x)

You could tell that some of the things I am just used to persisted, and that colorful, "childish" energy is still slipping through the cracks. Soulsb0rne games are ideal for how my mind works... but perhaps not for how my soul works. There is just something in me that craves that sillyness, overly colorful designs and settings, and maybe ER is closer to that aesthetic? Yeah, had I not been criticized on my art harshly upon joining BB, maybe my art would've been way more cute and 'free'! I always loved drawing many details, but something about the route I've taken about drawing made it very heavy. My brain short-circuits at the AMOUNT of the details I keep in mind, yet I can't rest unless I got it "at least 90% correct", even when it is a darn shitpost ;-; I will figure out what went wrong compared with the way I used to draw humans..... someday.

Thank you for asking, though! Ha! Honorable mention: tons of shitposty comics and doodles I kept drawing in classes, both school and uni! x)

[spiderpussinc]

Drawing tablet guy here again! Thank you for your input !! Oh, I do have an ipad I've been using for years, but my school requires me to get a tablet so I can use pc programs (Im going to be studying animation!! Technically, I'm not getting to the actual animating until my second year. But they said I'll need to have it for my first anyway)

I do you mind if I hear more about the wacom driver problems you were having? If you do, that's fine!

I was looking at huion at one point since unless you're getting a 4k screen, that huion actually has better specs, apparently? But then I heard that huions' customer support is terrible, which kind of put me off from them? When I first started drawing digitally, I got a little bamboo intus that had a problem out of the box and needed from customer support (which I did get!) But I'm afraid of being burneddd

Ive never had to use costumer support but i def understand the carefulness, in my case my previous wacom tablet's drives would randomly stop working. Meaning it completely lost pen pressure sensitivity and clicking accuracy. You had to plug/unplug/restart program/go on services and hard stop the wacom processing then turn it back on whenever it happened, and it was kind of a pain in the ass. I will say my current tablet doesn't have this problem but it was rly common some years ago!

Best of luck 👍👍

[beaubambabey]

Before I flew out to Japan I lost the pen for my tablet PC. This absolutely sucked. So hard. It was maybe three days before my flight. I was planning on doing some (not a lot but some) digital art during my down time just to get back into the swing of things. So I did some research and found that Yes, I can buy just about any Windows Ink compatible stylus and have it work for my Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, No, it doesn't have to be the Dell Premium Active XP Pen I'd been using since I got this laptop. This is the story of my quest to replace my tablet pen.

So I had my dad drive me to Best Buy to get my hands on a Wacom Bamboo Ink stylus. Tried it out in the car, worked fine, thought that would be enough for me.

I was wrong. About me, at least. Since I'm kind of a picky bastard.

The thing that I liked and got used to with the Dell Premium Active XP Pen was the rubber tipped nib. Pen pressure? That's variable and I can work around fewer levels or whatever. The nib though? I loved the slight drag and resistance of it. It helped make my lines smooth and I developed most of my current art style around the way I could make waves and curves work in my lines.

The Wacom Bamboo Ink stylus has a plastic tipped nib. It feels too slippery for me. I could mitigate this by getting a screen protector for my laptop, but that's a whole other story and not even the biggest problem I have with this. The biggest problem is consistent functionality. I often have to press buttons just to get it to stay working in the correct mode. Considering how it only draws on my tablet in one single mode, this gets kind of inconvenient. That on top of not feeling *juuuust right*? Guess it's getting relegated to a backup.

During my research on replacement pens, however, I learned that there's a rechargeable version of the Wacom Bamboo Ink called the Ink Plus. The Wacom Bamboo Ink Plus was not available anywhere that wasn't online prior to my trip. When I was in Japan, I decided "Hey, you're here, in Wacom's home country, during a time where the currency is weaker than the currency of your own country. Let's go to an electronics store!"

Big mistake. Because Japanese electronics stores are very different from American ones. They are terrifying.

Yodobashi Camera is a Japanese electronics chain store that is several stories tall and has many floors to get lost in. The walls are stark white and the lights are blinding as the speakers sing of the best deals possible while everything beeps around you. It probably didn't help that I went to the one in Akihabara but y'know. I went in, got help from like three separate employees trying to buy it, and spent 2/3 of what I would've to get it shipped to me in the states. Showing my passport off to get it tax-free probably helped too. Either way, it was twice the price of what I paid for the non-rechargable cousin of this stylus and the few Reddit posts I found about comparable alternatives to the Dell Premium Active XP Pen said that this one with the blue pen nib was the better alternative.

There's a very frustrating quirk about this one. Similar to its non-rechargable cousin, it also struggles with consistent functionality in a way that is even more unique. Specifically in that it wiggles. It makes my straight lines wavy. On top of how it will sometimes forget that I'm trying to draw with pen pressure and automatically pretend like I'm not pushing hard at all, which compels me to push harder on my screen. Which tends to put undue stress on a glass surface and can lead to cracking. I tried all three nibs and they all have the same issue. I even figured out how to connect it to Bluetooth which supposedly helps and it still did it.

Absolute pain in the ass. I miss my old pen. Yeah, the exterior was peeling and I had to tape it up just to keep the body of it protected, but at least it only stopped working once a year when I needed to change the AAAA battery.

[hardwiredweird]

Can I ask what may possibly be a dumb question but why do people do virtual art, like where they do drawings but on an ipad or some kind of thing? Is it less time consuming than drawing on paper? Can you erase mistakes easier than on paper? Also what happens if the ipad/tech drawing thing breaks, do you lose all your work then?

I'll take this as a good faith question and assume you're being genuine. I'm someone who does both digital and traditional art, but generally prefer traditional.

First and foremost, let me clarify one thing: Digital art (virtual is a bit of a weird phrasing, but that might be because English isn't your first language?) is not in any way 'lesser' than traditional. It's still art and it requires pretty much the same types of skill as traditional.

Digital has a whole host of advantages over traditional art. Some being in the process itself and others in the end result.

Digital pieces are easier to reproduce, for example. They are already in a printable format and don't have to be scanned/digitized to be shared. In today's world where so much happens online, that's a huge plus.

Digital is also much more 'approachable' and accessible for a lot of people. Most people have a computer already and a starter drawing tablet is less than 50 bucks, while there's plenty of free drawing programs out there like Krita. Yes, that is a lot more than a pencil and paper, but it is capable of more than the paper and pencil combo and will last you for years.

Digital, as you already figured out, has plenty of advantages over traditional like the ability to infinitely erase (which isn't possible when with a pencil), reshaping/repositioning elements endlessly, having layers and adjustments that can be manipulated individually... The list goes on and on.

Something that might be less obvious when it comes to the advantages of digital especially when we're talking about devices like an iPad or other standalone tablet device (I use a Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+, or example) is that it has a lower barrier for getting started. These devices are easy to have with you, are instant on, can be used handheld or on your lap and as soon as we start going beyond a simple sketch (which in traditional would require just a pencil and paper) it has zero setup time.

If I set up my paints, it requires special paper, my paint palette, my mixing palette, at least one, ideally two cups of water, my brushes... If I want to colour something digitally, I just need my tablet and pen.

Professional art supplies are also expensive and require space to store them (often under specific conditions. Dry, dark, clean, cool), while a tablet or PC has a use beyond art.

Digital has a long, long list of benefits over traditional, all coming down to 'if you mess up, you can fix it a lot easier and you don't have to waste materials on it'. Not everything is perfect with it (for example, it's much easier to learn bad habits on digital, the tactile aspect of traditional media is lost and the ability to infinitely erase and manipulate your pieces can hobble your progress with the mindset of 'eh, I can always fix it later') but generally, it's 'easier' in a lot of ways.

As for your last question: all digital drawing programs have the ability to export workable files like .psd files and it's generally just good digital hygiene to back up your files regularly in at least one or two locations. I recently upgraded my drawing tech (not because something broke, but because I was fortunate enough to get the chance to) and already had all my files in another location.

[theraedar]

HEWWO FWIEND 14 and all the ones from 16-22 for the art asks >:3c

HEWWO MY BUDDY!!!! Reply under cut bc it got long haha

14. Any favorite motifs

Baroque scrollwork and filigree are really pretty! They’re a pain tho idk how I find a way to do them so often lmao I also like whenever I get to do victorian aesthetics or alice in wonderland elements too!

16. Something you are good at but don't really have fun doing

Hmm going back to the scrollwork-esque stuff, idk if I’m necessarily good at it and it’s not that I dislike doing it, but it’s more that every time I do, it I’m like “why’d I choose to draw this again, it’s HARD to come up with” but I’m usually proud of how it comes out! Like these

17. Do you eat/drink when drawing? if so, what

I usually make tea whenever I draw or play games but I get so focused on what I’m doing that I ALWAYS forget to drink it. I will literally take one sip right before I dive into my work and then not touch it at all until MUCH later LOL that’s why I had to get myself one of those bottles that keeps your drink warm for like 12 hrs. I still will absolutely forget it but at least it’s still lukewarm by the time I remember :’)

18. An estimate of how much art supplies you've broken

Hmmm I mainly do digital art and thankfully I don’t break much of that (except some worn down pen nibs and a horribly frayed wire on my first drawing tablet), but I totally decimated one of my posable figma models bc I tried to bend the limbs too far and they snapped off...she lost an arm and both legs.........

19. Favorite inanimate objects to draw (food, nature, etc.)

LOL NOTHING MAYBE??? Well in bgs I think the nature element I’m best at drawing is probably clouds.....still so proud of these ones, I love doing the airplane line (?) through the sky haha....also only did this once in the vilorel hangout doodle page but I enjoyed drawing the makeup products!

20. Something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy

Mmm maybe hands? i still find them super hard to draw too, but I do like drawing graceful hands!! Will most definitely find an excuse to hide them if I can tho :’)

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways

hmmm I can’t really think of a specific example rn bc every artist’s style differs from each other so ofc I’m gonna like a bunch of artists with styles nothing like mine 🤔

22. What physical exercises do you do before drawing, if any

NONE BUT I REALLY SHOULD HUH

[cryptidcripplepunk]

Also does anyone have advice for like tags to get my commission info in the tag circuit better? My commission post hasn't reached anyone, please repost that if you can, though my drawing situation has unfortunately changed again because I lost my fucking pen for the tablet and I cannot draw digital with my finger to save my life-

[jerirose]

how long have you been drawing? i used to be really into drawing when i was in high school but a chronic illness has made it really hard for me to hold things like pencils, pens, markers, and styluses so i had to give it up. you're just really good with your art and i'm super jealous.

Hi Anon!

Firstly, please don't be jealous 😔 though I very much understand where you are coming from and I'm so sorry that Chronic Illness has taken away something you love (I can very much relate).

Secondly, to answer your question I've been drawing literally since I could hold a pencil! I was ambidextrous as a child (left hand dominant) and my dad loves to tell me stories of how I'd work on two completely different drawings at once, sometimes at different stages of each drawing. That was until school forced me to use my right hand and I lost my left-handedness and my ambidextrousness.

I drew all the way up until High School as well, I was an A+ student in Art Class but my teachers weren't great and since I was a "gifted child" my parents really, really fed into it and milked it for all they could, which really tainted my love for art, so I dropped my pencil for a camera when I was 15 and pursued that as a career and went on to college to study photography. Chronic illness and disability took that from me so I understand how much it hurts and how sad it can be loosing a creative outlet you love.

I do traditional art now once in a blue moon, basically whenever the mood hits and I've done digital art on and off for the last 8 years, mostly painting one or two things a year and then not touching my tablet again (because I couldn't get my hand-eye coordinationnto work and it was annoying), until last June when I decided for some strange reason to get an XP-Pen, I've literally no idea why or what drove me to do so, but made it far easier for me to do digital art, even though it took me like 3 weeks after it arrived to touch it. (I'm literally so stubborn and I will continuly try to find ways to do what I want to pursue). And I've been doing art seriously, for the first time since I was 15, since July last year. (And by seriously I mean, I work on my art skills most days for at least 2 hours if my health/body permits it, sometimes (like yesterday 11 hours) please don't be me 😅 it's less than healthy but I do take a lot of breaks)

I have a neurological disorder that makes anything and everything I do painful and there are some days where holding my stylus is very painful, but again, I'm stubborn as hell and if I can push past the pain I will - I also take breaks frequently throughout my art sessions and do lots and lots of hand exercises too! But it can be difficult and on some days I can't even hold my phone or type because the pain is too bad and it's very disheartening, so I completely get how you feel and I know that me pushing through the pain is something that not everyone can do in my situation either.